If the shoe fits ...

Friends and family will know that I am rather fond of shoes. I believe that owning more than 40 pairs is unusual for an Englishman, even one with two homes. However, until now, all my purchases have been from the stores, ready made, even if some have been particularly splendid.

This weekend, I took the next step (sorry) in my journey of discover in footwear. I was measured in Helsinki by the left foot company, for a pair of individually made shoes.

This company is a Finnish success story. In 1998, they began developing "a system that enabled detailed measurements of the customer's feet using 3D technology. Three years of in-depth development work led to the creation of the CMS system, which forms basis for the left foot company's activity.

The CMS system makes it possible to manufacture individual shoes with an efficiency almost matching that of mass production. Using computer aided design, 3D foot scanning, computer guided cutting systems and an automated production control system, tailored shoes can be manufactured industrially."

The process involves wearing socks printed with grids, then standing on a scanner bed with a camerate that travels 360 degrees around the foot, creating a 3D image. With one fluorescent yellow sock and one fluorescent green, each with a pattern like graph paper, I did feel somewhat like a mathematically obsessed Teddy Boy. The details are checked and stored and you then receive a unique username and password to use on their website.

After that, the challenge is to choose what style and colour of shoes you wanr. They have hundreds of variants to choose from. I eventually opted for their Via Nomentana style in Coffee / Cognac. You can find them on this page, they are also shown in the image above.

Now I have to wait for delivery, by post, in week 10. Apparently, if I am not happy with them then we retry until I am. Once I am certain we have a good fit, then I can order further pairs from the website without needing to go back for another fitting.

I look forward to reporting to you on the results. I hope I shall be head over heels!